Community-wide implementation of health information technology: the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative experience.
The Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative (MAeHC) was formed to improve patient safety and quality of care by promoting the use of health information technology through community-based implementation of electronic health records (EHRs) and health information exchange. The Collaborative has recently implemented EHRs in a diverse set of competitively selected communities, encompassing nearly 500 physicians serving over 500,000 patients. Targeting both EHR implementation and health information exchange at the community level has identified numerous challenges and strategies for overcoming them. This article describes the formation and implementation phases of the Collaborative, focusing on barriers identified, lessons learned, and policy issues.
Goroll
Allan H
AH
Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Medical Service, 15 Parkman Street, Suite 645, Boston, MA 02114, USA. ahgoroll@partners.org
Simon
Steven R
SR
Tripathi
Micky
M
Ascenzo
Carl
C
Bates
David W
DW
D020811:Biomedical Technology; D019058:Community Networks / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D006284:Health Plan Implementation / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D008404:Massachusetts; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized / Q000458:organization & administration*